Marula Oil
Saponification values, fatty acid makeup, and what this oil does in a bar of soap.
Saponification values
Grams of lye needed to saponify one gram of marula oil. Multiply by your oil weight, then apply your superfat.
- NaOH (bar soap)
- 0.137
- KOH (liquid soap)
- 0.192
- Iodine
- 73
- INS
- 119
INCI: Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil
Fatty acid profile
| Fatty acid | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Oleic | 75% |
| Palmitic | 11% |
| Stearic | 7% |
| Linoleic | 4% |
Soap qualities at 100%
What a bar made entirely of marula oil would score. Almost nobody soaps a single oil at 100% — this is here so you can see what the oil contributes to a blend. The shaded band is the range most makers aim for in a finished recipe.
What that means in a recipe
Almost no cleansing contribution (0) against high conditioning (79). Gentle on skin, but a bar built mainly on this will be slow to trace, slow to harden, and low on bubbles without something to balance it.
Derived from the numbers above rather than written by hand, so it stays in step with the data. Tendencies, not guarantees — your oils, water, and technique all move the result.
Oils that behave similarly
Closest matches by fatty acid makeup — the usual starting point when you have run out of marula oil and need a substitute. Check the lye maths again after swapping: SAP values differ even between oils that behave alike.
- Macadamia Nut OilSAP 0.139 NaOH
- Papaya seed oil, Carica papayaSAP 0.113 NaOH
- Pataua (Patawa) OilSAP 0.143 NaOH
- Moringa OilSAP 0.137 NaOH
- Camellia Oil, Tea SeedSAP 0.138 NaOH